Smithwick's Ale | Smithwick's Brewery / Irish Ale Breweries Ltd

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Pours a dark amber with a nice fluffy head that recedes to a spotty lace. Smells malty, grainy, and like buttered biscuits. Taste is very heavy on the malts with a toast-like finish. Feels thin in the mouth. Not a bad beer, but not one I would pay my hard earned money for. If it was free I would gladly accept though.

Got this in a trade from a friend. I suspect he got the better of the deal, but that's neither here nor there.

Pours from the bottle an attractive brownish-amber. The head fades pretty quickly, but some nice lace remains behind on the glass.

Like others, I didn't detect much of a smell ... I'd say what I did notice was kind of mildly sweet.
The taste, meanwhile, is a whole bunch of malt with some caramel poking through at the end. I was kind of underwhelmed.
I didn't think the mouthfeel was quite as harsh as some other folks noticed. I do believe I could drink a lot of these, and I wouldn't be offended while I did. But I wouldn't be dazzled, either.

This is not a bad beer, just kind of average, in my opinion. If it's the best alternative to boring macros, I would have at it ... but I wouldn't go that far out of my way for it.

EDIT: I let the beer warm up some more after my initial comments, and found the caramel character to be more evident (and more enjoyable.) I bumped up my score to reflect this, but I still don't think this is a beer to scream from the rooftops about.

This beer really did not live up to my expectations. I thought it would be a lot better. It is the color of iced tea. There is a decent sized head. The smell is similar to a light beer. The taste could use some improvment. There is quite a bite to it. I will not buy this again. There are much better options for red beer than this.

The pint of amber ale is topped with a modest soft khaki colored head of medium sized, loosely packed bubbles that diminishes fairly quickly to a minimal collar that left no lacing. The smell is of soft malt sweetness with a mild hop note, not overly distinctive. The taste is much the same. Generally sweet with a bit of graininess finishing with subdued hops that have a modest spice to them. There was also a bit of a metallic note as well. Medium body with a light mouthfeel that has a bit too much carbonation. Im not sure how many of these Id want to drink, as it was not overly enjoyable.

This seems to be slightly different, less flavorful and more carbonated, than I remember having it while on an Ireland trip a few years ago.

Poured from bottle a deep amber with a good head of foam that dissipated slowly

The smell is a light note of malt and pretty much nothing else.

The taste is a mix of malt and faint hops....not at all exciting nor complex but certainly not offensive. I'll let my next bottle get closer to room temp and if there are any noteworthy changes in my opinion of this brew, I'll edit my review. As it stands now, this just lacks the flavour that I was hoping for in a UK session ale. Too bad.

Recently sampled this on my vacation to Ireland this past week. This was my first pint in the Emerald Isle, drank during the Man City- Man Yoo match in the hotel pub in Newmarket-on Fegus, County Clare. Review conducted upon written notes.
Color is a dark rddish gold with a mediocre cap of head and sparkling clear body. The nose is based in hops but these are masked by an adjunct aroma, likely corn. Not appealling.
Taste is bitter and somewhat lacking in flavor. Ends in a crisp finish but an astringent aftertaste. Mouthfeel is creamy but thin..one dimensional and boring.
Not a good first pint for any country in my opinion. I probably won't be sampling this again any time soon. Not recommended.

Pours a deep, almost opaque copper color. In fact, the beer looks almost entirely black unless you hold it up to a light. Definite caramel aroma in the nose. The beer features a very clean caramel flavor with a slightly buttery quality. A fairly slight hop crispness comes through midway through. Caramel and grainy malt in the finish.

Not bad, makes a decent session beer, but not the tastiest one. Good caramel flavor with decent drinkability. Recommended.

Pours a deep amber-red with a reddish tinged head that builds to about one finger before dissipating fairly quickly and leaving little lacing. Smells of caramel and coffee, with malts and sweetness apparent. Taste is a bit medicinal, with the caramel muted by a phenolic overtone that puts a damper on the taste. Mouthfeel is a bit flat, with slight carbonation. Drinkability is solid, but not that impressive.

I must admit I was confused by the bottle and the fact that this is a Guinness offering. Smithwick's is an ale, not a stout.

Pours a dark amber/cranberry with a 1-finger head of small brown-tan bubbles that fades pretty quickly. Nose is pleasant, with notes of toasted coffee and hints of chocolate and hops. First sampled cold, taste was unimpressive. I allowed it to warm and flavor complexity increased considerably. When warmed, the coffee flavor is complemented by a nutty presence. The intensity of the nose increases as well. Mouth is bubbly, watery, and refreshing. The finish is bitter with some alcohol which detracts. Drinkability is a bit above average.

Overall: A pretty typical ale; not bad, but nothing to write home about.

Lovely amber color. Good clarity. Fruity, slightly hoppy nose. Initial mouthfeel was very full, malty, lots of nonfermentable sugar feel... but then finished as a clear amber lager. A good session beer, one I'd like to stock up on if the price is right.

Pours a bronzish copper with good clarity. Two light tan fingers of dense bubbles retain well and leaves some stubborn patches of lacing. Lightly toasted pilsener and caramel in the nose. There's also a whiff of hops that seem both noble and citrusy. Nice blend of crystal malt sweetness and pilsener spice, but the malt profile is still lacking for the style. The citrus and faint noble hop aftertaste dominates the flavor with no herbal taste detectable. Airy body is light but not thin; and a high level carbonation keep a crisp mouthfeel, but it retains some texture without becomeing diacetyl. Finishes mostly clean, but more like an APA.

On-tap at Brocach Irish Pub on the Square here in Madison. Happy Birthday Nick. Washed down some delicious bangers and mash, mussels, and split pea soup.

Deep garnet/mahogany in color, no real head to speak of. Nose is a little too subtle, metallic peat with a hint of smoke. Flavor is even more subtle - metallic bitterness, and a hint of smoked bread. Mouthfeel is thin and highly carbonated. Another underwhelming brew from the British Isles. Sadly, in my experience they tend to be watered down and lacking in character. Nothing that I'd particularly seek out again, though it made an adequate substitute for water with my meal.

This beer came amber brown with slight reddish hue. Smelled of sweet and dry sour malts, a bit like bleached flour. Tasted of a good smokey sour malt, a bit of molasses and a nice sour coffee finish. There was a nice combo of sharp contrasts in the flavor between the smooth brown ale-like malt and a sharp hops. Mouth feel was medium bodied, slick and creamy. Nice flavor in this beer. Very smooth with a nice assertive flavor. Ill look for this one again.

I drank this one straight from the bottle, so I can't really comment on appearance or smell. I will say, however, that I was very pleasantly surprised by the full-flavor and creamy qualities of the ale, which reminded me more of a smoother lager than an Irish Red.

In fact, the bottle I enjoyed was absent the sharp during and after taste that I've come to associate with Irish red ales. Instead, there was a fine balance of maltyness with caramel sweeteness in the initial mouthful followed by a very mild hoppy finish. The hops were dry and barely noticable, but present. Moderate carbonation with a medium body. Again, I drank this from the bottle so I can't comment on the color, consistency or endurance of the head.

That I was surprised by the smoothness of the Smithwick's probably means that I've been drinking a lot of poor red ales lately, but I found this ale highly enjoyable. I am a fan of German-style lagers and thought the Smithwick's exhibited many of the likable qualities found in my lagered Oktoberfests and dunkels.

Very clean, but I didn't detect any of the butter or toffee flavors some find in Irish Red Ales.

Take your time and enjoy this one! I bet it goes really well with a porterhouse with carmalized onions and some buttery greens.

T: I thought Irish red ales were supposed to be a bit maltier than this. Hops were a bit more to the front in the taste than in the smell.

M: Another surpise: rounder and creamier than I anticipated, with a soft carbonation. Nice.

D: This would be an excellent session beer -- nothing to slow you down, no overt complexity, just nice taste and relatively low ABV. For what it is, it's pretty decent. If it's available, have a couple, but don't go out of your way to find and get some.

This beer poured a rich dark amber color with a creamy smooth off-white head that endured till the end. I was amazed at how thick, sticky and long lasting the lace was and how it coated the entire glass.

The aroma is nicely balanced, malty, biscuit like, caramel sweetness.

Medium body that is smooth and creamy with a respectable mouthfeel.

Sweet caramel malt flavor with a splash of hops on the finish.

I enjoyed this beer very much though I've had better. Nevertheless, I found this beer to be delicious and satisfying.

This Irish Ale is dark red/brown in color and pours with a rich, thick head. A high level of carbonation creates a sparkle of effervescence on the tongue. A crisp, somewhat astringent, hoppiness characterizes this beer, along with a rich, mid-palate malty sweetness. Notes of harvest apples, spice, and molasses make way for a lingering, sweet aftertaste.

This beer is good overall. It's not a very strong irish ale, like george killians, but it is a different kind of beer. It's a bit thick, but not guinness extra stout, a bit sweet. Appearance and smell are better than average. all in all a pretty good beer. i would drink it again.

I've had Smithwick's on tap and in the bottle in the past. This review will chronicle my last experience in the bottle.

Pours a nice 2 finger head, which holds on a decent amont of time and the lacing clings nicely to my mug.

Pleasant smell of hops, not overly strong, but a nice invitation of what was to come. The best way I can describe this taste is to say that it taste like a more subtle version of Harp, if that makes sense.

No bitterness whatsoever in the finish. Goes down very smooth. I enjoyed the mouthfeel and found this one just slightly more carbonated than a Harp.

I could drink Smithwick's daily, it is one of my favorite Irish imports. Do yourself a favor and try this one out.